I have lost count of how many times we have read Goodnight Gorilla in the past year and a half. Our toddlers love everything about this book and we have a very worn, well-loved copy.
When Virtual Book Club for Kids announced it’s spring line up I was so excited to see this included among the titles. If you have a toddler and don’t already know this one – it’s a must get.
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Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathman
This is perfect book for bedtime. It is a nearly wordless book that follows a zookeeper and a sneaky gorilla around the zoo as they say goodnight. It is full of animals and gentle silliness that toddlers love. I love that the mischief of the gorilla is enough to draw my kids in, but the tone of the book and the conclusion perfectly cue up bedtime. It is one of our well worn favorites.
Read Also: 15 Awesome Zoo Picture Books for Preschoolers
Goodnight Gorilla Toddler Math Activity
Math for toddlers is so simple that you might not even realize you’re doing math – your kiddo certainly won’t.
This activity works on 1 to 1 correspondence. The basic idea is that when you are counting one number is assigned to just one object at a time. If you watch a little kid count you will notice that they don’t do this. They will say numbers (often in the wrong order) and point in the general direction of objects.
It takes time and practice for them to figure out this concept that you give each object one number. Games like this can help.
Materials:
- Copy of Goodnight Gorilla
- Bowls or Baskets
- Stuffed Animals. If you don’t have enough stuffed animals or want to use zoo animals – these Jumbo Zoo Animals are perfect for toddlers and work great with this activity.
How to Play:
Re-read the book Goodnight Gorilla with your child. Pull out the collection of stuffed animals and the bowls and ask if they want to play goodnight gorilla.
Ask your toddler if they want to count all the animals with you. Count them carefully together modeling how to point at one animals at a time while you count.
Then, together “make sure” there is a bowl for each. Lay them out, again counting one at a time.
Once everything is set out, it is time to play.
read also: Pete the Cat Counting Activity for Preschool
Give them one animal at a time animal and invite them to say “goodnight” to their animals like the zookeeper does in the book.
Note: If you are playing with more than one kid, like I did with my twins, then hand each kid one animal and then have them take turns saying goodnight. That way you’re still only say goodnight to one at a time, but each kid gets to hold something in the meantime.
Place one animal in each bowl as you go – thus practicing the basic math principle of one to one correspondence again.
Act out the book as much or as little as your child is interested.
Read Also: Zoo Animal Activities for All Ages
More Goodnight Gorilla Inspired Ideas
Are you a member of the amazing Weekly Virtual Book Club community on Facebook? It is free and fantastic weekly fun. Together a team of co-hosts (including yours truly) share a favorite children’s book and related activities each week. Join our community of over 6,000 creative parents, teachers, and childcare providers!
These are the activities from our team of co-hosts this week! I can’t wait to see what you do with our bookclub book this week.
Math Activities
- Feed the Lion Number Game from Rainy Day Mum
- Zoo Animal Counting Activity from Educators’ Spin On It
Colors Activities
- Zoo Activities for Kids: Hold an Animal Fashion Show from Mama Smiles
Science, Technology and Engineering Activities
- Frozen Animal Science from Toddler Approved
